Going Nowhere
by meteor9
Summary: Various 'drabbles' which may or may not lead anywhere, all for the purpose of building the author's skills with the characters. It's gonna subconciously lean towards a Shinji and Asuka pairing, if you're into that sort of thing.
1. Destination 1

_There's a new goal for this one. A series devoted entirely to training myself in the fandom. __So, sit back, friends, relations, total strangers, enemies, and possibly even the Q, and experience the horror that is...Going Nowhere._

_Also, thank god everyone is more observant than I am lately. How I missed that First/Third mixup is beyond me._

**_

* * *

_**

Going Nowhere: Destination #1

* * *

"Out."

Generally, the girl would speak in complete sentences. Even as a non-native speaker, improper grammar was just beneath her. As such, the boy had to question this statement, if one could call it that. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I wanna go out. I'm sick of eating dinner here every single night. I need some variety." She threw in a huff, just to make sure her point got across.

"Well...okay. So I'll just cook for Pen Pen and myself, then. Thanks for the heads-up." He went back to the contents of the pot currently bubbling on the stovetop.

She stared at him for a couple seconds in mock disbelief. "What, you're just gonna let a poor, defenseless, innocent young girl wander the streets at night? The amazing ThirdChild doesn't know any chivalry?"

_She can't be serious_, he thought. "I'm on a tight budget this week, Asuka. I can't really afford to go out. I'm sorry."

"Who the hell said anything about you eating? But, since you're clearly incabable of indulging yourself, I shall be gracious and pay for us both." She repressed the urge to flash a victory grin. The battle wasn't won yet.

"Somebody needs to feed Pen Pen, though." He nodded towards the penguin to emphasize. However, as Pen Pen was currently ruffling through a cabinet with one free flipper while holding a bag of chips in the other, it was rather self-defeating. "...I'll get the tupperware and pack all this up, then."

She had won. She let loose with the grin.

* * *

The two children made their way down the sidewalk towards the center of Tokyo-3. _It's not even close to sunset_, mused the boy. 

_Such a pushover. He didn't even look outside._ She grinned again. _Really, for a pilot with a kill score like his, he's incredibly dense. _She fell back a bit to line up parallel with him. "So where are you taking me?"

"You're paying. I'm just following you."

"What, you're gonna make me choose AND pay?"

"I just don't want you to waste your money somewhere you don't like." _And it was all your idea anyway_.

"Please, I am a woman of culture. There is no culinary tradition that I wouldn't appreciate." She almost went back to point position, but then remembered something. "Except for what this boring country passes off as cuisine."

"Well, we can't get very far from Japanese food, Asuka. This is sorta Japan," he responded, topped with a nervous chuckle.

"You're right, I won't be able to go to any restaurant around here. They'd just ruin whatever country they're attempting to emulate."

"Sorry."

"Hmph. Your relentless logic has ruined my evening. You'd better be sorry." Back to point.

* * *

Another hour, and they were still walking. 

"Um, Asuka? I thought you weren't going to eat anywhere. Why are we downtown?" Shinji found that they were indeed downtown, and surrounded by various diners, eateries, cafes, and restaurants.

"I'm still hungry. And I still don't want to eat at home. And I'm certainly not having leftovers."

"Well, I'm not choosing a place. It's your money after all."

"Gah, you idiot. Like I'd trust you anyway."

* * *

"A movie? I thought you were hungry." 

"I am. I haven't had popcorn in ages, so that's where we're going." She approached the front doors of the theater and gave them a push. Then a tug. Then a push. Then a kick. Then a full-on shoulder check. None of which worked. "What the hell is up with this!" she demanded of the building.

"Well, looks like this theater isn't open on Sundays." At least, that's what the sign on the door said._ How did she miss that?_

"The hell? What kind of movieplex closes on the weekend? Idiots! This whole damn city is full of morons!" She turned around and stormed to the curb.

* * *

Shinji's stomach was growling. Really, he should've eaten hours ago, but thanks to his current company, it was getting very unclear as to when they'd be getting a meal. "Asuka, could we just stop by a noodle cart? It's been three hours, and still have a report to write." 

"No! Like you said, MY money, MY choice! I'm not stopping until I find a decent goddamn dinner!"

_I should just go home by myself._ Still, he followed. _Of course, if anything DID happen, it'd be my fault for leaving her alone._ He chuckled at that. _Who am I kidding? Like she'd need me for anything_. He would've stayed lost in thought if he didn't almost plow through the currently motionless Second Child. "Um...Asuka?"

"You got your wallet on you?"

"Well...hold on." He ruffled through his pockets real quick. "Ah, yes I do. Why?"

"...I forgot to bring any money." Oddly, she sounded almost defeated.

Not that Shinji noticed. _We...we wasted...all that...three hours...no food..._ Luckily the boy didn't have any twitching problems, or else they'd certainly have gone off by now.

"Well, your money, your call. There's a cart up ahead, if you want. Or we could just go home." She still sounded somewhat down, which her compatriot did notice this time.

"Asuka, you can still pick out a resta-"

She didn't even let him finish. "I don't need your help. I don't have my money, so it's not my call. We'll just go back home."

Shinji was confused. Honestly, not really a new state for the young man. Still, he wanted to make_some_ sense of this. "Help?" He stopped there, trying to think of where to go with this. An idea struck him. "You just made me waste my whole night. You're not getting out of this that easily. Where are we eating, Asuka?" On the inside, he felt a victory grin coming.

Slowly, she turned to him, back to her usual demeanor. "Oh, is that how it is, Shinji? Fine. I'm gonna make you suffer."

* * *

"...I hate Mexican food." 

"Too bad. I'm not getting out of this, and neither are you, Shinji. Now eat your quesadillias. Your stomach growling is starting to piss me off."

He did as he was told, and she once again flashed her grin of superiority.

Then again, he also flashed his own.

We'll call it a draw.


	2. Destination 2

_Heads up, all. Once again, rather pointless chapter. Consider this whole Going Nowhere series to be just that; a series going nowhere. It exists mainly to train myself in the fandom, if you will. So, with that said, it means go ahead and eat me alive if you feel it must be done. It's the only way I'll learn._

* * *

**Going Nowhere: Destination #2**

* * *

"Hey, guys? I'm going up to the store, we're out of milk. You want anything?"

"No thank you, Misato."

"Nope."

"Okay, see you later!"

With that, Misato was gone from the apartment. While usually the starting point of many other stories leading to romance, another 'I'm bored let's make out' session, or anything like that...

...this is still the real world.

"You idiot."

This surprised Shinji. Not in the sense of what was said, just in the sudden nature of it. Frankly, he'd been called worse. "Er...I'm sorry?"

"That sure was an impressive stunt you pulled, oh invincible Shinji. 'Gee, I'll go kill the angel myself!' Really, good job on that one."

The 12th Angel. It wasn't exactly something he wanted to think about. Even compared to how much he usually despised his situation in life. The Evas, the Angels, NERV, his father, himself. Really, there was little that he didn't hate. But this last time was hell. He could still taste and still smell the dead LCL, almost as if it was a permanent stain in his mouth, or maybe even his mind.

But he didn't want to think about it. So he didn't talk about it.

"Hmph, so when something actually IS your own fault, you won't even say anything. Where's your usual 'I'm sorry!', 'Oh, that has nothing to do with me so I'm so sorry!', or any of that, huh? That must be some preconditioning you got going on there."

_I don't want to think about it._

"And the worst part is that you get away with it!"

He momentarily reflected back to his debriefing. The dressing down that his father gave him didn't strike him as 'getting away' with anything. But, he didn't want to think about that, either.

Getting no response, not even a facial expression out of the boy, Asuka finally gave up and returned to the living room. "Idiot."

Didn't bother him. Again, he'd been called worse. So for another hour nothing happened, aside from a rather cheesy sitcom episode and the consumption of food.

"It doesn't take an hour to get milk," Asuka muttered. Tired of waiting, she switched off the TV, which really wasn't showing anything good, and marched to the fridge to forage up something to drink. Something that wasn't alcoholic, anyway. It didn't really seem strange that Shinji was still sitting at the table with an empty plate in front of him, absorbed in his headphones. At least, up until the point where she yanked them off his head. "What exactly does NERV's 'best pilot' listen to, anyway?" She placed them against her own ears for a moment, fighting off Shinji's furious grabbing with one arm. Then, she laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"I don't believe this! What is this, pop music? I always thought you'd have some sort of depressing classical music going or something. But this is...this is too damn funny!" She tossed the headset back at him, which he quickly slipped over his head and around his neck, and then went back to the fridge.

Pushing the stop button, Shinji finally decided to counter. "I don't make fun of the stuff you read and watch, do I?"

This caused Asuka to momentarily halt her rummaging. "Well, that's because I actually have taste. You couldn't ridicule it even if you wanted to." Back to digging.

"That's questionable and you know it, Asuka," he added, though a bit reserved.

Victoriously, she snagged a stray cola out from behind an old watermelon and returned to the living room.

* * *

Another hour went by, and Misato still hadn't come back. This, much like everything else, didn't strike anyone as strange. Which is just as well, since for the record Misato was in no palpable danger or trouble. She may have been trying to dig up more information about NERV's true intentions, but since she wasn't coming up with much, Section 2 had yet to take action. So, she was in no more danger than anyone else in the organization, really. However, she WAS finally realizing how long she'd been gone from home, so she quickly reset everything back to the way it had been and made her way out of the facility.

_It'd help if I understood a damn inch of all this. How do I actually search for something that doesn't make any sense?_

* * *

"Hey, get out here, I got a book report to finish."

"Um, I don't really see why that would involve me, Asuka..."

"Oh, come on! You're supposed to be the Earth's great and wonderful saviour, so how could you turn down the request of a helpless damsel?"

_Right, right, she still has trouble with the kanji..._

So, he did as he was told, and proceeded to assist with the report. The usual barbs were traded, or at the very least, received. It didn't take too long as Asuka technically was a child prodigy and genius, albeit one that had trouble with one of the most complicated written languages on the planet.

"So, at least you're not a totally useless idiot."

"Uh...you're welcome?"

"Don't get me wrong, I don't NEED your help. But it does speed things up." Which, apparently, was good as she flipped the TV back on. "Ooh, just in time!" And that was it. For the rest of the night, she completely blew him off.

_Is that the closest thing to gratitude I'm going to get? Well, it sure beats nothing at all, _he thought. But only for a second. After all, it's not like it really mattered anyway. So his mind wandered elsewhere.

"Hey guys, I'm home! I figured you might want some take out, so I stopped at a restaurant on the way home."

He didn't care. He wasn't hungry, and he hated take out food anyway. But, anything is better than thinking about the Evas.


End file.
